Red Road flats gone in just five seconds

Caren McPate

IT was the end of an era for another block of the iconic Red Road flats after it was razed to the ground in just five seconds.

Hundreds gathered to watch the demolition of the 30-storey building at 21 Birnie Court on Sunday morning.

The tower block was reduced to around 10,000 tonnes of rubble during the controlled explosion, using around 88kg of explosives.

It is the second multi-storey to be demolished at Red Road following a similar blowdown in June last year.

It’s part of ongoing regeneration by Glasgow Housing Association, and partners, to transform communities across the city.

Many of the former residents were re-housed locally in GHA new-builds, upgraded homes or in new properties from partner social landlords.

Frances Smith (49), from Bishopbriggs, lived at Red Road as a teenager.

She said: “It was a great place to grow up. In fact, I’m still in touch with some of the people even now.”

Around 450 homes were temporarily evacuated for the blowdown.

Due to the unique steel-frame structure of the flats, the bottom 10 storeys of the block remained – as planned – undisturbed after the blowdown. The remaining storeys will be demolished using machines.

The clear-up operation will take several months to complete.

The remaining six multi-storeys at Red Road will be demolished on an ongoing basis through to 2017 as part of the regeneration plans.